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TomC just sent me this link:
http://www.gibson.com/absolutenm/templa ... 0&zoneid=6

The Justice department bullies Gibson without filing charges

The Federal Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. has suggested that the use of wood from India that is not finished by Indian workers is illegal, not because of U.S. law, but because it is the Justice Department’s interpretation of a law in India. (If the same wood from the same tree was finished by Indian workers, the material would be legal.) This action was taken without the support and consent of the government in India.

On August 24, 2011, around 8:45 a.m. CDT, agents for the federal government executed four search warrants on Gibson’s facilities in Nashville and Memphis and seized several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. Gibson had to cease its manufacturing operations and send workers home for the day, while armed agents executed the search warrants. Gibson has fully cooperated with the execution of the search warrants.

This is the SECOND time this administration has done this:

In 2009, more than a dozen agents with automatic weapons invaded the Gibson factory in Nashville. The Government seized guitars and a substantial amount of ebony fingerboard blanks from Madagascar. To date, 1 year and 9 months later, criminal charges have NOT been filed, yet the Government still holds Gibson’s property. Gibson has obtained sworn statements and documents from the Madagascar government and these materials, which have been filed in federal court, show that the wood seized in 2009 was legally exported under Madagascar law and that no law has been violated. Gibson is attempting to have its property returned in a civil proceeding that is pending in federal court.

The "Justice" department has asked the judge in the civil suit to suspend the case indefinitely.

This is not just about guitars, although it is one of the worlds great guitar-makers that has been affected. This is about Obama's apparent decision to put foreign law about the use of foreign resources above U.S. law, even when the foreign government involved has approved the use of the resources in question.

Eric Holder has to go. Obama has to go.

With this kind of oppression of US companies by the oversized, out-of-control Federal government, it is small wonder that the US is experiencing poor jobs growth (or inverse jobs growth, if you will) and dire economic straits similar to the rest of the world. Disciplined fiscal policy and severely shrinking the governmental bureaucracies are both needed yesterday.

The Federal Govt is so big now that they all have waaayyy too much time on their hands to look around for stuff like this to justify their employment! They don't care about right or wrong, they only care about generating some kind of enforcement/regulation to keep their positions safe.

The Annoyed Man wrote:This is about Obama's apparent decision to put foreign law about the use of foreign resources above U.S. law, even when the foreign government involved has approved the use of the resources in question.

Eric Holder has to go. Obama has to go.

This is what happens when a foreigner is elected to be president

I completely agree. The Hopiat of the Masses has done nothing for this country since he was put in the office. The U.S. means absolutely nothing to him. It is all about his "image" to the world. He wants the world to think that he cares about them and sees the U.S. as they do...too powerful. He has succeeded in making himself look incredibly weak, extremely indecisive , and completely inexperienced for the job.

I'm sure glad the government has its priorities straight. People in America need to have either government jobs, union jobs or service jobs, no one should really make anything here, as that would be bad for the environment.

How many bets Gibson is a non union shop.

I willing to bet that Gibson does not use union workers.

Naaa, I know the real reason. Ted Nugent has been known to criticise the current administration. He has also been known to play Gibson Guitars. He has also been known to own/use automatic weapons. So using the same logic that the administration did to justify their new reporting requirement (IE: We knowingly broke the law and let a whole bunch of guns go into Mexico so we must have a reporting rule to prevent this in the future...) they have logically concluded that Gibson must be making Automatic Guitars that must be illegal, if not they will make them illegal.

Ok my Sarcasm gland may be in overdrive today...

Everyone should be scared if this guys is right (http://thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/):

This amendment deals with illegal plants -- the primary thrust being illegal wood. Henceforth, all wood is to be a federally regulated, suspect substance. Either raw wood, lumber, or anything made of wood, from tables and chairs, to flooring, siding, particle board, to handles on knives, baskets, chopsticks, or even toothpicks has to have a label naming the genus and species of the tree that it came from and the country of origin. Incorrect labeling becomes a federal felony, and the law does not just apply to wood newly entering the country, but any wood that is in interstate commerce within the country. Here are some excerpts from a summary:

Looking around my house, not one piece of wooden furniture - either the ones I built or the ones I bought - has a label telling the genus and species it came from along with the country of origin. Certainly the toothpicks and knife handles don't. I see perhaps 2 dozen felonies within eye shot. Perhaps I should shut up about that.

Anyone who imports into the United States, or exports out of the United States, illegally harvested plants or products made from illegally harvested plants, including timber, as well as anyone who exports, transports, sells, receives, acquires or purchases such products in the United States, may be prosecuted.

VMI77 wrote:Everyone should be scared if this guys is right (http://thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/):

This amendment deals with illegal plants -- the primary thrust being illegal wood. Henceforth, all wood is to be a federally regulated, suspect substance. Either raw wood, lumber, or anything made of wood, from tables and chairs, to flooring, siding, particle board, to handles on knives, baskets, chopsticks, or even toothpicks has to have a label naming the genus and species of the tree that it came from and the country of origin. Incorrect labeling becomes a federal felony, and the law does not just apply to wood newly entering the country, but any wood that is in interstate commerce within the country. Here are some excerpts from a summary:

Looking around my house, not one piece of wooden furniture - either the ones I built or the ones I bought - has a label telling the genus and species it came from along with the country of origin. Certainly the toothpicks and knife handles don't. I see perhaps 2 dozen felonies within eye shot. Perhaps I should shut up about that.

Anyone who imports into the United States, or exports out of the United States, illegally harvested plants or products made from illegally harvested plants, including timber, as well as anyone who exports, transports, sells, receives, acquires or purchases such products in the United States, may be prosecuted.

Shoot the country must be doing a whole heck of a lot better than what it seems if this is what this administration and "Justice" department are worrying about.

Does anyone else here see the problem with agents needing AUTOMATIC WEAPONS (whatever those are, I do understand how the press has little understanding of firearms) to go into a GUITAR FACTORY? Don't you think their handgun/sidearm would have been enough in a case like this? If they took ARs or MP-5s, even shotguns, those weapons were taken in there SOLELY to intimidate the people in that factory. Did the Feds really think someone was going to do something to cause a shootout, that would need more than handguns, over some WOOD? Give me a break...that sort of thing makes me sick to my stomach...I know this old quote is way more than likely just an anecdote, but its the proper attitude:

Lady eyeing the cocked and locked 1911 on a Texas Ranger's hip: "Expecting trouble?" "No ma'am. If I was expecting trouble, I would have brought my rifle."

Once again, were they REALLY expecting trouble?

i8godzilla wrote:I willing to bet that Gibson does not use union workers.

I'll also bet that they are very well paid because they are true craftsmen. People like that don't just walk in off the street. They don't actually need a union. If Gibson didn't want to pay them what they are worth, then I'm sure that Martin or L'Arrivee would be happy to take them on. It's the marketplace in action.

VMI77 wrote:Everyone should be scared if this guys is right (http://thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/):

This amendment deals with illegal plants -- the primary thrust being illegal wood. Henceforth, all wood is to be a federally regulated, suspect substance. Either raw wood, lumber, or anything made of wood, from tables and chairs, to flooring, siding, particle board, to handles on knives, baskets, chopsticks, or even toothpicks has to have a label naming the genus and species of the tree that it came from and the country of origin. Incorrect labeling becomes a federal felony, and the law does not just apply to wood newly entering the country, but any wood that is in interstate commerce within the country. Here are some excerpts from a summary:

Looking around my house, not one piece of wooden furniture - either the ones I built or the ones I bought - has a label telling the genus and species it came from along with the country of origin. Certainly the toothpicks and knife handles don't. I see perhaps 2 dozen felonies within eye shot. Perhaps I should shut up about that.

Anyone who imports into the United States, or exports out of the United States, illegally harvested plants or products made from illegally harvested plants, including timber, as well as anyone who exports, transports, sells, receives, acquires or purchases such products in the United States, may be prosecuted.

That is part of the overarching plan...to create "laws" and rules that NO ONE can help but "break"...that way EVERYONE is a criminal in some form or fashion...and they can then utilize it against you if and when they need to utilize it...the importance of the Code of Hammurabi is in the fact that it was WRITTEN DOWN so that anyone who could read could see it...well, when you create laws such as the one above, buried in thousands upon thousands of lines of Federal code, it once again becomes a HIDDEN rule like those of ancient kings and emperors...I'd really like to be a more hopeful sort...but when I read this kind of stuff, I get a really bad feeling things aren't going to be okay, maybe ever again...

Heartland Patriot wrote:

VMI77 wrote:Everyone should be scared if this guys is right (http://thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/):

This amendment deals with illegal plants -- the primary thrust being illegal wood. Henceforth, all wood is to be a federally regulated, suspect substance. Either raw wood, lumber, or anything made of wood, from tables and chairs, to flooring, siding, particle board, to handles on knives, baskets, chopsticks, or even toothpicks has to have a label naming the genus and species of the tree that it came from and the country of origin. Incorrect labeling becomes a federal felony, and the law does not just apply to wood newly entering the country, but any wood that is in interstate commerce within the country. Here are some excerpts from a summary:

Looking around my house, not one piece of wooden furniture - either the ones I built or the ones I bought - has a label telling the genus and species it came from along with the country of origin. Certainly the toothpicks and knife handles don't. I see perhaps 2 dozen felonies within eye shot. Perhaps I should shut up about that.

Anyone who imports into the United States, or exports out of the United States, illegally harvested plants or products made from illegally harvested plants, including timber, as well as anyone who exports, transports, sells, receives, acquires or purchases such products in the United States, may be prosecuted.

That is part of the overarching plan...to create "laws" and rules that NO ONE can help but "break"...that way EVERYONE is a criminal in some form or fashion...and they can then utilize it against you if and when they need to utilize it...the importance of the Code of Hammurabi is in the fact that it was WRITTEN DOWN so that anyone who could read could see it...well, when you create laws such as the one above, buried in thousands upon thousands of lines of Federal code, it once again becomes a HIDDEN rule like those of ancient kings and emperors...I'd really like to be a more hopeful sort...but when I read this kind of stuff, I get a really bad feeling things aren't going to be okay, maybe ever again...

Congress and Obama: We Need More Innocent People in Prison

Check out "honest services fraud."

http://lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson322.html

Well, just when you thought it was safe to go back into the courtroom, the Obama administration and the U.S. Senate want to tag team in order to give federal prosecutors the power to send anyone they choose to prison, no matter if the accused has committed a crime or not. For readers who think I am exaggerating, think again. As I wrote in 2009:

You might not have robbed a bank or stolen anything, or engaged in any of the 10,000 "crimes" that federal prosecutors have in their buffet line, but I can guarantee that you are "guilty" of "honest services fraud." Have you ever taken a longer lunch break than what you are supposed to do? Have you ever made a personal phone call at work or done personal business on your employer's computer? Have you ever had a contract dispute with an employer or a client? All of those things can be criminalized by an enterprising federal prosecutor.

If you are an attorney and have signed forms even though you have not read every word in them (for example, the standard closing documents for real estate), then you have committed "honest services fraud." The list goes on and on, but most likely by now you have the picture: you are guilty even if you never are placed in the dock in federal criminal court.

VMI77 wrote:

Heartland Patriot wrote:

VMI77 wrote:Everyone should be scared if this guys is right (http://thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/):

This amendment deals with illegal plants -- the primary thrust being illegal wood. Henceforth, all wood is to be a federally regulated, suspect substance. Either raw wood, lumber, or anything made of wood, from tables and chairs, to flooring, siding, particle board, to handles on knives, baskets, chopsticks, or even toothpicks has to have a label naming the genus and species of the tree that it came from and the country of origin. Incorrect labeling becomes a federal felony, and the law does not just apply to wood newly entering the country, but any wood that is in interstate commerce within the country. Here are some excerpts from a summary:

Looking around my house, not one piece of wooden furniture - either the ones I built or the ones I bought - has a label telling the genus and species it came from along with the country of origin. Certainly the toothpicks and knife handles don't. I see perhaps 2 dozen felonies within eye shot. Perhaps I should shut up about that.

Anyone who imports into the United States, or exports out of the United States, illegally harvested plants or products made from illegally harvested plants, including timber, as well as anyone who exports, transports, sells, receives, acquires or purchases such products in the United States, may be prosecuted.

That is part of the overarching plan...to create "laws" and rules that NO ONE can help but "break"...that way EVERYONE is a criminal in some form or fashion...and they can then utilize it against you if and when they need to utilize it...the importance of the Code of Hammurabi is in the fact that it was WRITTEN DOWN so that anyone who could read could see it...well, when you create laws such as the one above, buried in thousands upon thousands of lines of Federal code, it once again becomes a HIDDEN rule like those of ancient kings and emperors...I'd really like to be a more hopeful sort...but when I read this kind of stuff, I get a really bad feeling things aren't going to be okay, maybe ever again...

Congress and Obama: We Need More Innocent People in Prison

Check out "honest services fraud."

http://lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson322.html

Well, just when you thought it was safe to go back into the courtroom, the Obama administration and the U.S. Senate want to tag team in order to give federal prosecutors the power to send anyone they choose to prison, no matter if the accused has committed a crime or not. For readers who think I am exaggerating, think again. As I wrote in 2009:

You might not have robbed a bank or stolen anything, or engaged in any of the 10,000 "crimes" that federal prosecutors have in their buffet line, but I can guarantee that you are "guilty" of "honest services fraud." Have you ever taken a longer lunch break than what you are supposed to do? Have you ever made a personal phone call at work or done personal business on your employer's computer? Have you ever had a contract dispute with an employer or a client? All of those things can be criminalized by an enterprising federal prosecutor.

If you are an attorney and have signed forms even though you have not read every word in them (for example, the standard closing documents for real estate), then you have committed "honest services fraud." The list goes on and on, but most likely by now you have the picture: you are guilty even if you never are placed in the dock in federal criminal court.

As quoted from the Declaration of Independence:

"Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

EVERY VOTE COUNTS NEXT YEAR...

So, knowing our Mass Media, where's the headlines?

Armed Federal Agents raid American factory for using American employees

Fed agents with automatic weapons invade factory in Nashville for using American workers

I'll keep a look out for them